Summary: Mr X complained the Council’s school admission appeal panel did not properly consider his appeal for a school place for his son, Y. Specifically, Mr X complained the Council did not take sufficient account of the fact that Y was not in education. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

The complaint

1. Mr X complained the Council’s school admission appeal panel did not properly consider his appeal for a school place for his son, Y. Specifically, Mr X complained the Council did not take sufficient account of the fact that Y was not in education. Mr X wanted the Council to offer Y a place at the school of his choice.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word fault to refer to these. If we are satisfied with an organisation’s actions or proposed actions, we can complete our investigation and issue a decision statement. (Local Government Act 1974, section 30(1B) and 34H(i), as amended)
3. We consider whether there was fault in the way a school admissions appeals panel made its decision. If there was no fault in how the panel made its decision, we cannot question the outcome. If we find fault, which calls into question the panel’s decision, we may ask for a new appeal hearing. (Local Government Act 1974, section 34(3), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I read the documents Mr X provided and I discussed the complaint with him.
5. I considered the documents the Council provided in relation to this complaint.
6. I spoke with a Council Officer about the appeals meeting.
7. Mr X and the Council had an opportunity to comment on my draft decision. I considered any comments received before making a final decision.

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What I found

Relevant legislation and guidance

8. Statutory guidance about school admissions and appeals can be found in The School Admissions Code and School Admission Appeals Code. Both are published by the Department for Education. 
9. All schools must have a set of admission arrangements containing oversubscription criteria. The school’s admission authority uses these to decide which children will receive an offer of a place if there are more applications than places available. The school’s admission authority sets the admission arrangements.  
10. A school’s admission arrangements must also contain a Published Admission Number. This is the number of places the school will offer at each point of entry. The point of entry is when the school normally admits children.
11. Parents/carers have the right to appeal an admission authority’s decision not to offer their child a school place. 
12. Appeal hearings must be held in private and conducted in the presence of all panel members and parties. Appeal panels must act according to the principles of natural justice.
13. Panels must follow a two-stage decision making process. 
14. Stage 1: the panel examines the decision to refuse admission. The panel must consider whether: 
• the admissions arrangements complied with the mandatory requirements set out in the School Admissions Code; 
• the admission arrangements were applied correctly; and
• if the admission of additional children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources.  
15. If a panel decides that admitting further children would “prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources” they move to the second stage of the process. 
16. Stage 2: balancing the arguments. The panel must balance the prejudice to the school against the appellant’s case for the child to be admitted.  
17. A clerk supports the appeal panel. Parents can submit information in support of their appeal. The clerk must take an accurate record of the hearing, including the proceedings, attendance, voting and reasons for decisions. 
18. Appeal panels must either uphold or dismiss an appeal and must not uphold an appeal subject to any conditions. Appeals must be decided by a simple majority of votes cast. A panel’s decision that a child shall be admitted to a school is binding on the admission authority concerned. 
19. The clerk to the panel must write to the appellant, the admission authority and the council with the panel’s decision and reasons. 

What happened

20. Mr X applied for a place for his son Y at school A. School A did not offer Y a place. In September 2023 Mr X lodged an appeal against that decision.
21. The Council arranged an appeals panel hearing and sent out the relevant paperwork to Mr X in good time.
22. The meeting notes shows the panel members considered the admissions arrangements complied with the School Admissions Code, and that they had been correctly and impartially applied. The notes show the Council considered the admission of another child would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources because:
• school A was over its published admission number;
• school A had a significant number of pupils with additional needs and children who had been previously looked after, which required additional teaching staff and put pressure on the school budget;
• school A had pupils who spoke over 60 different languages and some without English at all which required additional teaching staff and also put pressure on the school budget; and
• school A was overcrowded due to small buildings.
23. The panel unanimously decided admitting more children would prejudice the provision of efficient education or the efficient use of resources. It therefore progressed to stage two of the appeal hearing.
24. Notes of the meeting shows that Mr X submitted additional evidence, which the panel agreed to consider. Mr X said Y was not currently on roll at a school as he had most recently been educated at home and he had not been offered a place at any of the schools Mr X had applied for. Mr X set out why school A was his preference for Y. He said the other schools with places in Y’s year were not suitable, were further away or were not as good as school A.
25. The papers the panel considered showed there were two schools within two and a half miles of Mr X’s address with places in Y’s year group, and four schools with places in total in the local area. The record shows the panel unanimously decided not to uphold Mr X’s appeal. It concluded that Mr X’s reasons for wanting Y to attend school A did not outweigh the prejudice that would be caused to the school by admitting another pupil. It commented that there were schools with vacancies closer to Mr X’s home that he could apply to if he wished.
26. The Council wrote to Mr X and told him of its decision. It set out how it considered his appeal at stage one and stage two. It explained how it considered the points he raised and the reason for its decision. It said it decided the reasons Mr X cited did not outweigh the prejudice to the school of admitting another child and so it did not uphold his appeal.
27. Dissatisfied with the Council’s decision Mr X complained to us.

My findings

28. We are not an appeal body. We cannot question the Council’s decision because someone disagrees with it. We can only decide if there was fault in the way the decision was reached.
29. The Council considered Mr X’s appeal in line with the Schools Admissions Appeal Code. The records show it properly considered the information provided to it by school A and by Mr X. The record and decision letter shows the Council considered the fact that Y did not have a school placement, and that there were schools locally with places available in Y’s year that Mr X could apply to. There was no fault in the Council’s actions.

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Final decision

30. I have completed my investigation. I did not find fault in the Council’s actions.

Investigator’s decision on behalf of the Ombudsman

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman